New show won't make you crack up

It isn't enough these days for a sitcom to have a few sensible characters trapped in a house of maniacs and let the comedy run its course. FOX's new show, "Cracking Up," is proof that even the most outrageous slapstick can't survive if it isn't backed up with strong characters and writing.

The premise of "Cracking Up" is that psychology graduate student Ben Baxter (Jason Schwartzman) is assigned to live with the Shackletons, a rich Beverly Hills family, in order to treat their "troubled" youngest son, Tanner (Brett Loehr). By the time Ben soon discovers that in fact, it is nine-year-old Tanner who is the only sane person in the house, he is already too tangled in the hysteria to free himself from the Shackleton family.

The form of this show is a tried and true: a rational straight man trapped in an irrational world. Ideally, the nutty characters play off the straight man for comic effect by confiding in, asking favors of, and revealing their schemes to him. This form falls apart in "Cracking Up," however, for lack of a compelling and effective straight man

Jason Schwartzman is a terrific actor, but he's ill-suited for this role. He is too much the determined and bizarre personality he played in "Rushmore" to have any success as the straight-man. No doubt he's a genius in his own right, but "Cracking Up" is a bad fit. A straight-man needs to be utterly plain and unremarkable, which is not something Schwartzman can (or should try to) pull off.

Sadly, the only other possible straight-man, Tanner, is nine and can't act his way out of a wet paper bag, though he can probably still fit in one. If the success of "Cracking Up" rests on his shoulders, the show is up a creek without a paddle.

Liam, Ben's best friend, is the next closest thing. As an almost straight-man who hits on everybody for comic effect instead of dead-panning, he brings the essential one-liner aspect to the show, essentially spiking the punch. Liam even tries to enlist female clients for Ben, yelling to them, "Hey ladies, are you in trouble? ... Do you want to be?"

The head of this family of lunatics of the family are presented as follows: Ted (Chris McDonald), the father, is an unfaithful husband and sociopath. Lesley (Molly Shannon), his wife, is a bipolar alcoholic in need of attention. Preston, the oldest son, shaves his body as an obsessive compulsion and exhibits "homosexual tendencies." Chloe, the daughter, broadcasts her cheerleading routines over the Internet from a webcam in her bedroom.

Chloe and Preston are funny enough to stir up the action and keep the story moving, but Ted and Lesley are the comedic ringleaders of this motley crew. McDonald revives his trademark glossy-eyed red face for Ted. This shouldn't still be funny, but it is. If you don't remember, think villain in "Happy Gilmore."

McDonald's character Ted is even a little better than usual in "Cracking Up." Among the Shackletons, Ted is deserving of some sympathy, which gives him a little moral wiggle-room with the audience. Though Ted is having an affair with his secretary, he says to Ben, "I'm tired of people accusing me of things they're not sure I did!" Fair enough, Ted.

Lesley holds her own as the loveable and erratic housewife, but without the support of other actors who know how to set up Shannon, she's not as funny as she could be. As Lesley employs Ben to help her break open the liquor cabinet with a crow bar, there is that familiar sensation of Mary Catherine Gallagher about to lose control and flip backwards into the set. Somebody should review "SNL" tapes with Schwartzman and show him how to play it because in scenes with Shannon, he looks like he's doing improv at the repertory theatre.

"Cracking Up" may be worth watching, but don't expect much from Schwartzman. "Cracking Up" isn't "Rushmore" and in the former, Schwartzman exists more for overall appeal than anything else. It's that "close, but no cigar" feeling. If anything, watch for Shannon and McDonald, who prove that they can still get a laugh even when the odds are against them.